Textile cleaning solution



United States Patent TEXTILE CLEANING SOLUTION Joseph Niisslein,Frankfurt am Main, Germany, assignor to MetallgesellschaftAktiengesellschaft, Frankfurt, Germany, a corporation of Germany N0Drawing. Application July 3, 1952 Serial No. 297,163

Claims priority, application Germany July 6, 1951 1 Claim. (Cl. 252-171)This invention relates to means and methods for cleaning textiles andparticularly articles of clothing; the invention particularly serves theremoval of oil and paint or pigment stains.

The removal of this type of stains from the textiles and from theclothing, suits, coats, covers, curtains, rugs, is generally effected bythe application of cleaning gasoline; this particularly applies to theremoval of oil, paint, street dirt, soot and the like. It is a Wellestablished experience that the customary cleaning media such ascleaning gasoline and similar organic solvents, for instance, certainchlorinated hydrocarbons do not operate satisfactorily. Repeated washingof the treated articles is therefore required to completely remove thestains and this greatly prolongs and complicates the work. Moreover, thetreated articles undergo by the repeated treatment a reduction of thecolor, the wearing capacity and the shape.

Many attempts have been made to improve the cleaning capacity ofgasoline by the admixture to the same of acid olein soaps and the likesubstances; these attempts have not been successful. Moreover, thepresence of the named substances in the textiles is most undesirable, asthey are not water soluble and actually increase the danger of quicksoiling.

This invention is based on the recognition that the removal of stainsand particularly of oil, pigments and paint stains from textiles andclothing may be greatly facilitated and accelerated if certain organicderivatives of the phosphoric acid and particularly of theorthophosphoric acid being soluble in the gasoline and having asatisfactory wetting property for pigment dirt are dissolved in thesame; these admixtures increase the cleaning and stain removing capacityof the gasoline in a surprisingly effective manner; they have inaddition other advantages which will become apparent, as thisspecification proceeds; since they are water soluble they can be easilyremoved by water-washing. If not removed they are not harmful; moreover,they impart to the treated goods a welcome softness; they also enablethe admixture of a small quantity of water to the gasoline, which isoften highly welcome.

The textiles to be cleaned may be entered into the gasoline solution ofthe organic phosphorous compounds without preliminary drying and havingits natural moisture content; even the stain containing portions of thegoods still being moist from a pretreatment need not to be carefullydried.

Moreover, the danger that the gasoline may be ignited due toelectrostatic loading is greatly reduced by the presence of the organicphosphorous compounds and salts thereof.

The phosphorous compounds most advantageously usable for a dissolutionin the gasoline are organic compounds of the phosphoric and particularlyof the orthophosphoric acid which contain at least one surface activeradical or residue per molecule. This radical may be of an aliphatic,cycloaliphatic, aromatic, mixed aliphaticaromatic or heterocyclic typeand must contain at least 4 C-atoms; it may be bound to the phosphorousthrough the intermediary of a carbon, sulfur, nitrogen or oxygen atom.

When two or three surface active radicals are present in the samemolecule they may be equal 0; different and they may be bound to thephosphorous equally or difierently.

The application of the above described type of organic groups which areadapted to accumulate or introduce Water is particularly desirable. Ifsuch groups for instance one or several glycol radicals are entered intothe phosphoric acid ester molecule, for instance, as polyglycol ethers,care must be taken that the solubility of the phosphorous compounds inthe gasoline is preserved, as the same may be reduced by a concentratedaccumulation of glycol residues or radicals.

The phosphorous compounds are for the purposes of this inventionpreferably used as free acids, salts thereof or mixtures of the saltsand the acids.

Also tertiary phosphorous compounds that is compounds where all thehydrogen atoms of the phosphoric acid are substituted may be used forthe instant purposes. Also in this case the introduction of hydrophilicgroups into phosphoric acid molecule increases the usability of theinstant cleaning liquids and this particularly if a small amount ofWater is present in the gasoline solution.

The admixture of the phosphoric acid derivatives to the gasoline shouldbe preferably made Within 0.5 to 25 parts by Weight of the latter toabout parts of the gasoline.

Example 1 Two kilograms of a teritary ester of the orthophosphoric acidare dissolved in 100 liters of a commercial cleaning gasoline, the esterhaving been produced from 1 mol octadecyl alcohol, 2 mols of anoctadecyl tetraglycol ether and 1 mol of (POCl The moistened soiledclothing is cleaned by means of this solution in the customary manner.

A small quantity of about 0.5 to 1 liter water may be added to thephosphoric acid ester or the water may be added to the gasolinesolution.

Clothing having paint and pigment stains can be completely and quicklycleansed by the application of this cleaning solution.

Example 2 4 kilograms of a 50 percent solution in gasoline of aphosphorous oxychloride primary ester of the orthophosphoric acid withcetyl alcohol, prepared at a slightly elevated' temperature, 1 liter ofwater are dissolved in 100 liters of gasoline.

This solution may be effectively used to remove not only oil and paintstains but also stains resulting from metal working articles.

Since certain changes in carrying out the above process could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description shall be interpreted as ilustrativeand not in a imiting sense.

Having ths described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to besecured by Letters Patent, is as follows:

A cleaning agent, particularly for the removal of oil and paint stainsfrom textiles. and articles of. clothing comprising a solution of about100. parts by. weight of and gasoline, 2 parts by weight of tertiaryorthophosphoric acid ester made with onernol of octadecyl alcoholl andtwo mols of octadecyl tetraglycol ether.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,869,312 Granger July 26, 1932 2,091,121 Lenher et a1. Aug. 24, 19372,327,182 Flett Aug. 17, 1943 2,550,982 Eberz May 1, 1951 2,718,550Rudel et a1 Sept. 20, 1955 2,728,643 Vaughn Dec. 27, 1955 FOREIGN-:PATENTS 354,300 Great Britain Nov. 18, 1930

